Valuation Change

A single Valuation Tribunal for England, an independent body for hearing council tax and rating appeals, will be established on 1 October 2009.  This will replace the existing 56 valuation tribunals.

The purpose of bringing together the 56 tribunals into one, under a single judicial head, is to achieve improved consistency in procedure and decision making across the country.

The new body will be launched at the Royal Institute for Great Britain, before some 200 guests from the judicial, valuation and local taxation arenas.   The event will include an inaugural tribunal hearing.

Professor Graham Zellick CBE is the first President of the Valuation Tribunal for England, which will be operating under new procedural regulations which were laid before Parliament on 2 September 2009.

Professor Zellick was appointed by The Lord Chancellor, who has since named four part-time Vice-Presidents – Mr Alf Clark JP, FRICS, Ms Fiona Dickie, Mr David Hogg CB and Mr Michael Tildesley OBE.   Mr Jon Bestow IRRV has been appointed as Registrar and Chief Clerk of the Tribunal.

There are currently around 700 volunteer, lay valuation tribunal members, who receive training to deal with these specialist appeals against valuation for council tax and non-domestic rates and against liability for the council tax.  Many of these members will transfer to the Valuation Tribunal for England and future appointments will be made by the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Under the new overarching name of the Valuation Tribunal, for both its judicial and administrative arms, the organisation will pursue its aims of providing a quality service for tribunal users that is perceived as fair and independent.